Sisterly blog challenge

Yesterday Seesta posted this on my facebook page:

We decided to DO IT!  And we decided that it's all for fun, no pressure - if you miss one, don't hide in shame just jump back in - it's only a month...  kinda thing.

Do you want to join in?!  If so, just take a picture that relates to the topic or word of the day.  You don't need a fancy camera.  You don't need a blog.  Hell, you could DRAW the images...  you could WRITE a description...  I'm just thinking CREATE something.  You get me?!

If you feel like jumping in here with me (and Seeesta), just leave a comment with a link to your creation (or your phone number to set up a time to show me your drawing!)  ;)

Let's get creative.  Let's get to thinking... and having FUN!!!

Weeee!

The 2 a.m. skirt

In an attempt to add a bit more creativity and fun to our lives, a few of my friends and I have decided to start a monthly get together/crafty/creativity/girls' night.  The idea being we get together and do something creative.  The first of our adventures was hosted by Nikki.

This is Nikki.  She's plating the amazing cheesecake-stuffed strawberries that she made. So delish!!  :)

Nikki is quite a creative gal.  She is an amazing seamstress.  She is a jurried artisan at Tamarack.  She designs her own fabric and has started her own design label.  Oh, and she's a graphic designer in her "real" life.  She's won some contests for her graphic work as well. I'm sure there's a host of other things that she's done too....  not to mention being a fab-o mother of four!  Aaaand.... Everytime we get together, she makes me laugh!   (It also helps that her hubby and my hubby are good friends.)  yay!  But I digress...

The first night of creativity was a JUMP start for me.  I haven't done much thinking outside of THE box in a while.  And what a jump our first night was...  sewing.

C-girl decided to officially name our evening.

Did I mention that I don't know how to sew?!  Umm...  yeah.  (Other than that time in high school where I borrowed Dad's machine to try to make a skirt...  ended up taping the sides so that I could wear it ONCE.) 

But I was game and actually have a sewing machine.  What?!  Yep, I got a wild burr about two years ago and asked for a machine for Christmas.  I never used it.  In particular, I thought I had returned it for credit at JoAnnLand....  I found it still sealed in the box on a random shelf in the basement.  Good luck for me!

Me!  (Photo by C-girl)

Here's the point of the bloggie blog where many others would give you a step by step log of how we made our project - a skirt.  (Oh yes, we did.)  But...  I'mma notta gonna to do that.  Why?  For a number of reasons.  First, the skirt step by step that we used can be found here.  Secondly, I was too busy to take pictures. Thirdly, this really isn't that kinda blog (at least right now). 

Nikki teaching me - brave woman that she is!  (Photo by C-girl)

A note on pictures...  I took about three to six pictures that night.  But Nikki's stepdaughter, let's call her C-girl (to protect the innocent, ya know), showed a keen interest in my camera.  I let her go wild.  She had a blast.  And I actually got some pictures of myself!  weee!  That's rare around the ol' manor. 

C-girl took nearly 200 photos.  I told her that was the beauty of digital!!  Take and take and take and scrap what doesn't work. 

I think my hand looks just like my Mom's in this picture. (C-girl)

Creative needle shot. (C-girl)

Sewing.  (C-girl)

Our first craft-a-palooza was so very fun!  We ate delicious treats!  We gabbed like girls do.  Nikki showed me how to operate my sewing machine.  And we made skirts.  Ok, well, C-girl and Nikki made skirts.  I got pretty darn close to making a skirt.  Close enough that I really think I'll be able to finish it here.  :)  (That's why I entitled this "The 2 a.m. skirt"  for we joked that if we stayed up til 2 a.m. surely we'd finish.)  No, we didn't stay up that late.

Working.  (both by C-girl)

I was so inspired by our fabric night, that I ran to JoAnnLand the next day to buy some more permanent supplies - seam ripper, seam measuring thingie, and of course, MORE fabric!!!  Because now that I have almost made something.... I can surely redo my BEDROOM!?!  Well, seriously, that's the plan.  Anyone can make a pillow, right?! 

YES, I CAN!  :)

For whatever reason, I like this one.  (C-girl)

Our next night of creativity is planned for the IDES of MARCH....  and we're already bucking the system.  There's a Celtic-rock-inspired band playing downtown that night.  I think it's a great reason to think outside of the box, listen to some good tunes and drink a pint or two! 

 

The cat.  Because every house needs a good cat.  (C-girl)

Oh, and you're not crazy...  I started this whole thing talking about multiple "friends." There really is a good group of us, but only Nikki and I could get together that night to sew.  Carolina came after teaching yoga and chatted with us, which was fun.  We may need to move our creative nights around on the schedule to accomodate.  *I'll post pictures of the skirt when I finish it.  Which may be awhile...  since I discovered I sewed a pocket on backwards and have to undo the top and reverse said pocket....  oy vey.  Perhaps this is a test of patience too.  ;)

Watoga, Part Two: Our arrival and firewood adventures!

I made it to Watoga with Mom and Zoey!  It wasn't easy. 

Picture us getting *slightly* lost.  Watoga may have a Marlinton address, but the "town" of Marlinton is NOT where the Park is...  like, we NEVER saw Marlinton.  We never saw the tons of places that I researched (aka restaurants...)  But I digress.... Picture us driving over a pretty incredibly beautiful mountain (it was mid-October, fall foliage time in West Virginia, mind you...).  As we drove over said mountain(s), dinnertime was quickly approaching.  If you know me, you know that I must eat.  I HAVE to eat.  regularly.  I had packed snacks, but I hadn't been keeping up with the snacks (and quite frankly, I forgot that I had packed cheese sticks!).  Soooo, blood sugar was dropping.  Spirits were slumping.  And Mom's secondary brake pedal was continually being slammed to the floor! 

At one point late in the drive, I pulled (slammed) over to the side of the road and got out of the car to get the "real" food out of the trunk:  the bread. We snacked on bread and apples and whatever else I found in the cooler - oh, there are those cheese sticks!  It was a quick stop - but a nice stop to eat and check the map again.

Ah, the map!  I should mention after coming down the MOUNTAIN... we found a gas station.  I ran in to ask directions and buy a MAP.  In the days of GPS, cell phones, MapQuest, yadda yadda...  one easily forgets the importance of a paper MAP!  There is NO CELL SERVICE anywhere!  And the TomTom (GPS) didn't recognize the address for the park...  it could get us to "city-center Marlinton,"  uh, but we covered THAT little part...

I asked the young "ladies" about buying a map...  They didn't have any to sell - only an old one from the tourist bureau or something.  I gladly took it and asked for directions (and a place close by to eat)...  The one girl (Let's call her "Meth Mouth."  For she did, in fact, have the worst case of Mt.Dew/Meth mouth that I have ever seen!  Even worse than the fictionalize/satorized depictions of Englishmen's teeth in the "olden days"...)  Anyhoo...  "Meth Mouth" basically laughed at me when I asked where Watoga was...  especially when I asked if there would be a sign somewhere. 

She then explained to me how to find the ONE sign that was near a white church.  "Oh, ok... Thanks...."  hmmmm...  what?!  Check out Mom's blog for the picture of that.  Her camera didn't work the first part of the trip.  My camera was full as we made the trek home. 

But after checking the map and resetting the GPS to a "citycenter" of a town that was close to the entrance of the park, we made it - with daylight to spare!!!

The Watoga State Park office, located 5 miles from the entrance to the park.  It had a space for a restaurant and a gift shop (both closed for the season).  It was pretty cool looking - larger than I thought - perhaps a bit like a 1950s lodge might.

Mom picking up our key!  The office was closed by this time and we got our key off of the wall.

 We had driven past Cabin #7 (our cabin) on our way to find the park office.  I must admit, at first drive-by-tired-and-hungry glance, I thought it was tiny and we were surely sunk.  So, when we picked up the key, I remember John saying Cabin #17 (or was it 12?  I remembered at the time) was a two-story cabin.  I found the keys for that cabin and contemplated switching...  but then, no.  ;) 



The awesome fireplace!!  Zoey checking out the rocking chairs (it came with three).  And, our reason for making the trek, Daddy on the mantle.  I think it was a nice place to let him hang out for the weekend - watching over us, if you will.


Arrival!!  Upon entering our fair Cabin #7, I was pleasantly surprised - shocked even!  It was much bigger than it looked!  It was actually pretty cool.  And, yes, now I can say I really liked it.  :)  I would do it all again.  (IF I packed better.  "When you know better, you do better," says my friend Christine.) 

 It was getting COLD in the mountains...  As soon as the sun went down... it got even colder.  We brought all of our bags and luggage and such in from the car... now what?!  Well, there was that whole FOOD thing.  So we made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and snacked on our goodies - chips, etc. 

We thought about the fireplace... None of us had much experience with building a fire.  I love fire.  Always have, but I've not much time starting one.  We figured that our camping trio (The Strothers) would soon join us, so we waited and went to the next major step: BEER.

I brought a case of my seasonal favorite, Sam Adams Octoberfest.  I had been looking very much forward to a tasty cold beverage after our long drive.  (Which, by the way, Mom and I decided not to leave Dad's remains in Watoga during our drive into the park.  It is too far away. And, subsequently, not the park she thought it was...  not the park she and Dad went to with Grandma Bea and Pop-Pop.  I'm quite happy with that decision.)

But back to the beer, (wink wink - nod to Dad!),  I hadn't thought to bring an opener... surely a cabin in the woods would have a BEER OPENER!!!  NOOOOOooooooooo!!!  The rabbit-wine opener top was made of PLASTIC and had been broken. ... Most likely by some other road weary traveler clumsily desiring a tasty cold BEER. 

I can't remember if turned on Mom's iPhone for some much needed tunes at this point or not...  but we did during the evening.  Ah, They Might Be Giants....  The Flood album was a great spirit lifter - even without our anticipated "spirits"!  ha! 

While eating our dinners, we decided that if we didn't see (cause there would be no "hearing from" anyone without cell service...)  our fellow cabin dwellers by a certain time, we'd get to the fire ourselves... and we did just that. 

Me making a fire out of the parts left over from the previous tennants.  (Note:  glad I was drawn to the cool hand-forged fireplace tools because the old fire was still GLOWING hot underneath.  Evidentally the last residents left within hours of us.  We realized this when I found WET dishes in the cabinet - freshly washed.  AND one coffee cup with coffee and cream still in the cup - put away IN the cabinet!) 

My very first indoor fireplace fire! 

I learned SO MUCH during this trip!  As the fireplace was our only source of heat and I ended up being the ishkatay over night....  Tracy and Keith taught me about fire (the next day - but with my uninformed night before, the information made so much more practical sense!  And a MUCH warmer night the next night)!  My fire lessons could fill a post alone.  Just let me say, I love it all even more now!  :) 

The three of us sat by our little fire and enjoyed being - just being.  I made coffee for mom.  Zoey rocked her bunny in the rockers.  We waited for the rest to show.  (Hoping all was ok...)

The loft space - where Tracy, Keith, and Delia slept.

The ceiling.  Aren't the colors of the wood divine?!  And, I purposely didn't mess with the pictures (for time too!) **Note:  I have both flash and non-flash pix this trip.  I prefer no flash, but I'm just not very good with staying steady these days! So, forgive me if some are blurry.  I guess that's a good thing about the blog - this small, you can't tell!  ha! 

Zoey's dress for BED! 

Zoey in our room.  We took the queen bed because we thought John would join us the next day.  After we decided to bring Dad home, I called him (from the office pay phone) and told him not to make the LONG trip.  We missed him.  *And, no, we didn't use that crib.  Zoey was way too long for it and she just stayed with me!  Better all around!!

One of my favorite pictures!!  Ingenuity reigns supreme! 

After deciding that we were going to run out of wood very very soon...  Mom and I decided that we'd just take the bull by the horns and go gather some wood!  The wood pile/shed was back outside by where we parked the car.  Between Mom's two lanterns (bright LED or halogen or something BRIGHT) and my bright idea to carry wood back in with my super sized laundry basket, we made it work!  I hate spiders and bugs and what not... so I took out the super cool fireplace gripper tool to pull wood out of the pile and onto the ground (thereby not having to reach directly into the wood "house" without gloves).  Brilliant!  (at least in my mind) We made two trips, I think, maybe three...?!  Zoey stood inside the door and watched us some.  I figure she was just going up and down the stairs to the loft over and over and over.   That was probably her favorite part of the cabin.  :) 

In retrospect, we needed MORE wood - lots more.  (Like I said, I learned soooo much. Like how to properly stoke the fire and so one and so forth...)  So the next day Keith and I loaded up some more wood and that night we FILLED the floor and behind the door with wood. (Know better, do better.)  :) 

But enough of previews of the next installment.  :)  I think this post is quite long enough!!

Now, THIS captures a moment!

.

Cafe Du Monde by Dooce

If only my screen was big enough to see this in all of it's beautiful coffee/sweet treat/neat-o-photog-ness! 

Writing...now....

I have a need to write.  Yes, I do.  But I haven't done it.  I haven't written - much of anything - in a long time.  No blog posts.  Many fewer FB status updates.  No stories.  No book ideas.  Not even so much as a list in a very long time.  WHAT?! you say...  "No LISTS?!?"  Yep, I haven't even gotten to the store with a list in weeks. 

So, here I sit.  Zoey's napping.  I'm trying to get my head together from a morning that I didn't really expect.  (No story there, so don't bother asking.)  DOOL is on in the background.  I can't even sit still to watch that anymore.  I'm "lucky" lately that Zoey has been napping during this time so I can get my fill of "my stories" as Grandpa would say... but eh... bleh...  it's just so...  not where my mind is...  not even where my mind wants to vacation these days.

I want to be outside...  or at least I like the idea of being outside.  I'm not at all interested in being outside in this almost-spring weather.  Nosirree!  I want SUN and a slight breeze.  Here in the Valley that perfect weather might last all of one week.  Two if I embrace the muddy grass on one side of that week or the blazing heat of the week after.  That's how it is here.  ...Ok, not really.  It just feels that way right now as I sit and stare out at my muddy yard. 

I did have the windows open this morning - at least part way.  That was refreshing. 

...On to other writing news...
I have some pictures in the "queue" here.  waiting.  to go up on the ol' blog.  They are from when Zoey was so sick a few weeks ago.  I want to post them because they are a memory here - a moment.  But they are so sad to me.  I just want to have some other things to buffer my loooong absence here before throwing those pictures up.  (Ok, so maybe I'll do it tonight.) 

My sweet friend, Crysta, has given up Facebook for Lent.  (You may have seen her posts show up on my blogroll.)  I thought about giving something up.  Not because I'm religious at. all.  But I am surrounded by people that are either Catholic, religious, or simply like to do what everyone is talking about doing... so I did think about it.  Then thought that didn't jive with me to just give up something because it's "time" to try the sacrifice.  Although I do like Crysta's views on the whole thing.  Check her bloggie blog out, if you wish.

I view my spiritual connections a bit differently than many I have met.  So, I'm using this Lenten season to keep gratitude in my heart and voiced frequently - everytime I think about someone giving up something special to them for 40 days (or see them actively not having that mocha or pastry or whatever), I try to think of those things and people in my life that make my life so special.  Thank you!  Thank you! Thank you!  and thank YOU!  I'm not going to post a picture of my gratitude.  I'm not going to write every thankful thought out for the world to see.  At least not now.  I have seen various forms of a "gratitude" project out there in the internet world...  Most do make me stop and think.  (I'm sure that's the point.)  But I have yet to be moved to do one myself - at least publicly.  I'm simply going to try to stay thankful in my heart and when I'm so moved to do so on here or there or there... It'll be that much grander to me.

....I've been told I need to write something, anything, every day.  I'm working on that...  Maybe I'll keep this going with a list.  Perhaps a happy list... like all the places in my house I could actually put live flowers/plants where the cats won't eat them!  Hmmm.... 


...

...

I think that list might be too short to count.  ;)

Winter Windowsill Tea Party

In the wide world of the internet, one of the blogs I read (SouleMama) has this thing she does every Friday: {this moment}.  That is where she posts a picture about a moment from the week that she'd like to remember or pause to reflect on or whatever...  it's posted without words.  It expresses the feeling, the mood....  it's pretty cool. 

I thought I'd try that.  ....however....  could you imagine me without words?!  Or geesh, even she me picking ONE picture?! 

I tried. 

Then I thought about the Grandmas...  And just how cute some of these pictures are that I sorted.  I thought, gee, those Grandmas (and Aunts and Cousins...) sure would like some MORE pictures.  And it is MY blog...  If I want to write...  so....  Here's my {moment(s)}: 

I love this one because of the feeling, the faint colors of the lights in the tree, the pigtails!!

Cute.

Here, I believe she was telling me something... Perhaps what we were drinking?!

This was another choice for my ONE {this moment}.  It just captured that little bit of time.

Here are some just for fun - trying out my camera -shots.  I'm still not used to my new lens (or my old one for that matter)...  so I just keep shooting and every once in a while, I get one in focus!  ha!

None of these shots are photoshoped or messed with...  the computer John got me for Christmas is currently in a box, ready to be returned for a full refund...  so, I still can't load any fancy software or see on a pretty and bright screen....  (although the day or two that I could look at a big BRIGHT pretty screen were wonderful and made me realize I shouldn't even try to mess with my pictures until I can actually SEE the process.)  So, enjoy what's here and perhaps one day, when I have time (and not ignoring my toddler, as now)... I'll be able to make them all fancy and light-corrected and what not.  :) 

Paper snowflakes and Princess tea sets on our jumping bed of BIG pillows.  (and a hula hoop thrown in... 'cause that's how we roll.)

Winter lights, tea party sights, paper snowflakes fill our (days and) nights!

**Oh and for the archivists, these pictures were taken on Tuesday, the 11th.

Take a moment...

I first watched this video over at Petite Planet. The first time I watched it I was just entranced by the simplistic beauty. My mind stayed focused on the images themselves, but as I tried to get into the message, I thought of sweet Zoey and her light. I watched it a second time to really find my "secret." I have no problems telling you I thought about swinging on the swing set at my Grandma and Grandpa's house... Sun Valley. I closed my eyes and felt my legs kick high into the air. I remember trying so hard to reach my legs and feet over the nearby apple trees. Higher and higher....

So beautiful. So free.

It makes me teary-eyed to think about it even this much.


**Take a moment and enjoy this... the music... the images... the message...

Happy Autumn, everyone! Happy Equinox!

Beautiful and Energetic Photos!

Hey, if you haven't noticed... I've added yet another fantastic piece of eye candy to my blogroll. Ashley Athey Photography. Ashley and I went to college together. Ok, so that's not right... She and I went to the same college, but I don't think we were there at the same time. It's confussing only because after I graduated I still frequented the theatre... we were both theatre geeks, if you will. :)

In any case, she's a great photographer... Even been published in a couple fancy magazines and such. I'm not trying to sell her to you or anything. I just thought some of you might find her photos neat to view.

Everybody knows I'm a sucker for weddings!

Celebrate Boobies!!

This week is World Breastfeeding Week!! Since I am a strong supporter of breastfeeding, I thought it would be a great idea to share this event with all of you - my loyal blog followers! (This is also a gret way to get my bootie back into posting more frequently.)

This is the *new* symbol to represent breastfeeding. It was designed as part of a campaign on mothering.com (great site and magazine!!). The GUY that designed it is a stay-at-home dad! SO COOL!!

I don't have many pictures of me nursing Zoey. (Sad, yes, but I think it's because I'm usually the one taking the pictures!) This one - I love!! - was taken by my friend Julia while we were at Broughton's Nature Preserve back in May. We were actually attending a mama*ology "Photo Fun" workshop on learning to use our cameras. I think it just wonderfully captures the moment.... me laughing, sweet Z having a snack (and examining her foot)!

Here's one of the nursing photos that I've taken of myself. I just love the way her little hand tightly clutching my shirt. And...ooooh that hair! It's been so beautiful since the beginning! :) This was a beautiful fall day in the park (October 14, 2008). I wrote about this day here and here.

This picture shows the "milk coma" after a nursing. It was taken on July 31, 2008 (that makes Zoey just more than one month old). So sweet!!

Zoey is 25 months now and we are still nursing!

**Oh, and here's a link to a super cute Sesame Street video about b/feeding! (Thanks, Betsy!)

Piano.

It's funny... how the universe groups things... how ideas tend to gather in the great ether....

A few nights ago, while waiting to get into the bathtub before bed, Zoey and John and I were playing in the front room. Zoey was wound up crazy, like normal. In an attempt to focus her for a minute, we asked her to play us a song on her piano. Normally this would me that she'd slam and bang and laugh. This time she very gingerly croutched in front of the tiny piano and played a tune. Really. She thought about where her fingers were on the keys. (Mostly using her index fingers.) She listened to the sounds coming from the little wooden box. She looked for reactions from us and smiled... a lot. It was absolutely wonderful!

We talked about the piano he had as a kid in his house, as well as the one I had in my childhood home. We thought about where we would put one in our house - someday.

Then the next day (I think), my sister posted a little ditty from another blog that we both read. This post contained a picture of the author's family piano - newly restored. It made Tracy think of the pianos we had as a kid (much forgotten in the black hole that is my childhood of memories).

All of this piano-ness has me thinking about Christmas carols at my cousins' house... good ol' fashioned singing around the piano. (I think I only got to do that once or twice...) More recently, singing with our friends, the Elliotts. I like that kind of stuff.

I've often thought about learning to play the piano. My sister did get to take lessons - or more as I remember it - was forced to take lessons. I don't even know if the option was given to me. I didn't much think about it then, if at all. Now, thinking about how much I love music...how I still remember a few tunes that I taught myself on the Casio of the late 80s/early90s... only one-handed, taken from trumpet sheet music.... how I've been told I might actually have "piano hands." (?! A compliment?! yes.)

Seeing my little girl pluck away with such delight. Showing us, the parents, some glimmer of a future full of music... hmmmm...

Funny. That a little moment before bathtime could have easily been forgotten. Thankfully, I had some help from across the world wide web to focus me.

**Note: these photos were taken today - just so you could see the piano we now have in our home. It's from John's parents' house. I'm not sure if it was his or Bill's or both, but it's Zoey's for right now. :)

While we wait.

Again, I have taken a break. A break not because I have wanted to - but becuase life and things have taken the driver's seat these last weeks. I have endured the worst 24 hours a mother can ever. I have spruced and painted wee parts of the Manor. I have tried my hand at cooking things, gardening things, and added more hours to my volunteer list.

I have also be given a wonderous new toy - a camera. Those who know me are anxiously awaiting PICTURES. I am too. And by that I mean, I'm still learning and the HUNDREDS of photos I have taken since Mother's Day are patiently waiting to be downloaded once I learn about the software that came with the camera and figure out how to load said software onto an already overloaded tiny machine.

In the meantime, please know that I have crafted dozens of blog posts in my head (usually while in the shower) and if ever the time would come to be able to download my inner thoughts, I'd have a book deal in minutes! ;)

Also know I have been thinking about you, dear readers, and this blog. I love you both. I'm working to get my ducks in a row and my pictures to you.

Unitl then please check out this AMAZING blog. The link was sent to me by a girl on my mama*ology group. The author is her friend and the blog has beautiful photographs, wonderous writing, and stories that will make you laugh and cry. (She also features some Fiestaware!! Whoot!!)

Love to you!

Follow the yellow brick road.

Ok, so not really. This post has nothing to do with Wizards or Frank Baum. But I thought "Follow the Leader" was misleading and "Follow Me" simply lame. :)

My friend, Heather, has recently started blogging. I think she tried once before - when her son was born. I'm not going to link to her - for one, I haven't asked her and two, she might prefer that I not send people to her until she gets the hang of this bloggie thingie (um, that's a technical term).

When I saw her last - a few weeks ago - we discussed blogging and I found out that she actually reads this, here, blog! This surprised and delighted me! We talked about how I'm not really sure how many people read my blog because I don't have that many followers. (I think I'm at 18 now. And, yes, I love you 18 folks!!) And how not many people leave comments.

So what this little post is all about: SIGN UP, PEOPLE!! C'mon, it is not hard, you won't be put on some gov't watch list, you don't have to give personal information, you don't have to post a picture.... If you want to use a fake name or whatever, that's fine... (just if you really know me in real life, drop me an email and tell me that profile entitled "MutherLuvsGuns" is really you). That said, if I don't know you and your profile creeps me in anyway... yeah, I'll figure out what I can do about it then.

So, Heather... (and Joyce)... and all you other friends of mine, please "follow" me and leave me a comment every once in a while. Or at least leave a comment without a profile.

**If it helps, I'm taking part in "101 things in 1001 days" (although I haven't told you that because I wanted to launch a big post with my list... but my list isn't 101 things long yet... kind of defeating the purpose...but I'm working on what I have listed and constantly adding more "things") and one of my list items is "Get 30 followers on my blog" another is "Get 60 Followers on my blog." Now that I have written that, I guess I'll start crafting a post explaining the list... eh, sometime... :)

Thanks all!

"Pirate Ship Park" Part One.

Yes, I realize it has been, oh, two weeks or so since we actually went on this little adventure... but here's the update I promised. IN TWO PARTS... that's right TONS o' pictures.... Let's get started:



This is Sophie. Cousin Sophie, if you will. Her mama, Heidi, is married to my second cousin, Jason. (His dad is my dad's nephew. My Dad was a bit of a surprise, I think... and my Aunt Norma is 17 years older than my Dad.) In any case, Sophie and Zoey are very close in age - like 2 weeks I think. She's adorable! This picture was taken at the restaurant where we had lunch. The girls had a great time - even if both were reeeally fighting not having a nap. There was some crankiness, but we all pushed on... there was a PARK to see!



Tracy calls the park we went to "Pirate Ship Park" because there is a giant pirate ship to play on. Clever, eh?! :)



Zoey in the SHIP... Delia and Tracy too. The ship part is bigger and mostly for the older kids, but we had to at least explore it.

Sophie on the slide (on the toddler side of the park). This girl is amazing on the slide! She just climbs right up there all by herself and slides down.

Back inside the ship... Zoey LOVED to pick up handfuls of pebbles and move them. (The park ground was covered with pebbles, as opposed to mulch or sand or whatever. It was cool. **A couple of the older kids on the playground decided to roll around in the rocks - like chinchillas bathing in dirt.... funny... only if you aren't the mom of the kid who doesn't really know about playgrounds and staying out of the way of big kids. We did well.)

One of the best pictures of Zoey I've seen in awhile. It just captures her well. Tracy took this one. I think Z is going down the slide at this point. SO CUTE!!

A blessingway full of ceremony and love.

Saturday was the Vernal Equinox. Click on that to read a nice blurb about the holiday. I chose to take you to my sister as opposed to some wiki or googly site becuase I thought she said it rather nicely. That, and I used her post as a bit of inspiration for a part of my blessing at another Blessing this weekend.

Yep, I attended another blessingway. This time it was for my friend Lori. Lori is a yoga instructor and this is her first child. She's planning a midwife-assisted homebirth (actually two midwives because our friend Holly is a midwife int training). I have a special spot in my heart for Lori because she taught the prenatal yoga class I took back when I was preggo with the Zomeister (duh, like I've ever been pregnant before!?). She is a cute little lady with a great smile and a gentle heart. (Yet she can swear like a sailor and likes beer - so I've been told, I've yet to have the pleasure of sharing a brew with her...)

This blessingway was much more ceremonial and traditional than the last few I have attended. Those ladies had been through the journey before and while still emotional... those blessingways were more connective than transformative - if that even makes sense....

Here's the mama-to-be, Lori, getting her traditional footbath and hair brushing. The one giving the footbath is Holly, our friend and midwife. The one actually steadying Lori on the birth ball, prepping to brush her hair, is Lori's aunt. (We tried to tell Lori that she should sit on an actual chair for this, but the ball was right there.... yadda, yadda... "it'll be fine...." and it was.... but I wouldn't recommend it.) ;)

The footbath represents the midwife being in service to the mother. - A way to show the mother has someone there for her needs. The hair brushing signals a change (and perhaps a bit of pampering). I'm not too big on the hair brushingness for myself... but I understand the concept. :)

This was toward the end of the ceremony. All of us in attendance had brought a bead for Lori. We strung them on a piece of cording and said a blessing for her birthing. The mother can either wear the necklace during birth or simply place it somewhere in the room as a focal point - or simply a reminder of the connectiveness of birth and the women who support her.

The picture shows Anne (sorry for the butt shot) lighting a candle. Lori is surrounded by the blessings that people brought. - poems, stories... The framed picture is what I made for her. It's a prisma-pencil drawing of a pregnant torso and a lotus flower. I wish I had taken a picture of it - I am pretty proud of the way it turned out! :)

I also love that you can see some of the women in the background - reflected in the mirrors. The BW took place at Lori's studio. It was actually in the 'hot' yoga room - which was interesting... some of the ladies brought their little nurslings and the kiddos were more affected by the heat than us oldies. But everyone was fine and fans were blowing.

There were many other beautiful points to this BW. Many wishes of love and strength. Many ceremonial pieces of which I didn't take pictures - I just enjoyed.

Here's my candle to take home and burn upon hearing of her birthing time. (Lori is also a Hypnobabies Mama, as I was.)

And just for fun, this is Christina and Kingston. She is also a fellow HypnoMama. We joke that Zoey is Kingston's boyfriend... it's more he wishes!!! He LOVES Zoey. She thinks he's a cute baby... but oh, so, young! HA! (He'll be one in April.)

I have to agree.

... Zoey is taking an early, crank-induced nap now. I hopped onto the sphincternet to get updated on other peoples' lives again. I found this and laughed so hard I had to hold my nose closed while covering my mouth to make sure I didn't wake Zoey!! Enjoy.

A Letter to My Sister.

Dearest Seesta,

Could you please read this post and PLEASE use your ever so BRILLIANT and creative ways to craft some knittings for me?! Oh PUH-LEEEZE!! I especially LOVE the fingerless arm warmers. How clever. Don't you think? I could have used such arm/back of hand covers even today as I drove in the sun and "pert-near" got a sunburn on my forearms and back of hands.

And the neck warmer with buttons in the first picture... oooh, yum!

Oh, sweet sister, isn't this blog author simply delightful!? I think, if I may be so bold, that she could be our other sister... so sassy, so funny, so quirky. She especially reminded me of YOU in the RED pants! Might she just be a Mighty Walls Girl?!

Love,
Your Seester

P.S. I'd be happy to buy the supplies for these endeavors. Just tell me what I should get. For real. I'm serious here... I'll bake you brownies. I'll let you snuggle my baby. any. time. :)

Link to a peeved and accurate post....

One of the many blogs I read is Petite Planet. It's a mom that posts eco-friendly ideas about parenting and life in general. Today's post said what I think alot of my readers (that's you) probably think about too. I told her that I would link to this post and spread her/the word.... so check it out.